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notallbooks_mp's review against another edition
5.0
Gorgeous and devastating without resorting to melodrama the way so many "disaster " works do. I ❤️ Teddy
marc's review
3.0
Aftermath Lounge is a collection of short stories whose characters have been affected by Hurricane Katrina in various ways. Although not a big fan of short story collections, in general, I liked this collection as each story had one or more characters that led into the next story, enabling the writer to partially develop some of the characters and give the collection the feel of a short novel.
Teddy is introduced as a young child, visiting his grandparents in their Pass Christian, Mississippi waterfront home with his divorcee mother, Diane, over Christmas. By the last short story, Teddy is a teenager, permanently living in the rebuilt Pass Christian home with his mother and grandfather, Paul Zimmer. While Teddy and Diane are two of the more developed characters in the collection, I was frustrated with curiosity as to why Diane has a pattern of running away, or why Teddy is so incredibly calm and mature.
Catch is another partially developed character – a Vietnam veteran who serves as yard and handyman for the Zimmers, and even as Santa Claus to young Teddy. We are briefly introduced to his ex-wife Norma, an alcoholic house cleaner and factory worker in Gulfport, Mississippi, her husband Sam, and an infant they have assumed responsibility for after his mother’s death several days before Katrina strikes. We also meet a woman from New Orleans, and another handy man, Ed, who cross paths with Catch, and give us further insight into Catch’s character.
Overall, the author gives us a brief glance into the effects of Hurricane Katrina on a small group of very diverse characters. Too brief a glance, in my opinion.
I received this book from Net Galley.
Teddy is introduced as a young child, visiting his grandparents in their Pass Christian, Mississippi waterfront home with his divorcee mother, Diane, over Christmas. By the last short story, Teddy is a teenager, permanently living in the rebuilt Pass Christian home with his mother and grandfather, Paul Zimmer. While Teddy and Diane are two of the more developed characters in the collection, I was frustrated with curiosity as to why Diane has a pattern of running away, or why Teddy is so incredibly calm and mature.
Catch is another partially developed character – a Vietnam veteran who serves as yard and handyman for the Zimmers, and even as Santa Claus to young Teddy. We are briefly introduced to his ex-wife Norma, an alcoholic house cleaner and factory worker in Gulfport, Mississippi, her husband Sam, and an infant they have assumed responsibility for after his mother’s death several days before Katrina strikes. We also meet a woman from New Orleans, and another handy man, Ed, who cross paths with Catch, and give us further insight into Catch’s character.
Overall, the author gives us a brief glance into the effects of Hurricane Katrina on a small group of very diverse characters. Too brief a glance, in my opinion.
I received this book from Net Galley.
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